past imperfect Stanley Pelter George Mann Publications Published by George Mann Publications Easton, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1ES 01962 779944 Text and selected illustrations copyright © Stanley Pelter 2004 Cover & selected illustrations copyright © John Marsh 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0954629922 also by Stanley Pelter Coming on Lately Seventeen is sufficient i meet U in the inbetweenitee Pensées Word Plays a moment is forever George Mann Publications to mum and dad and to U who gives me belief, space and time, with love Contents Preface..........................................................................6 Introduction................................................................7 birth.hospital.............................................................12 birth.day.....................................................................14 age.–.what.age?.........................................................15 evacuee.......................................................................16 Venus..........................................................................19 London.slums...........................................................20 when.i.was.very.young.............................................22 war.rubble..................................................................24 five stones..................................................................25 head.cases..................................................................26 family.portrait............................................................30 democracy..................................................................31 The.Rose.Hill.Park.School.of .Grass.....................32 waiting........................................................................34 waiting........................................................................35 MirAcles..aRe..forEver............................................36 Bedless........................................................................39 holiday.job.................................................................41 Headmistress.............................................................43 Hospital.Father.........................................................45 Happy.Birthday.Mum..............................................47 refrigerator.................................................................49 Dsad..Fathser..Papsa................................................52 liquorice.allsorts........................................................56 sOoo0.bored.............................................................57 sisters..........................................................................58 across.the.lecturer’s.shirt.........................................61 slow.hazy.day.............................................................62 bar-mitzvah.photograph..........................................64 the.lusting,.the.love,.the.one.with.no.‘the’............71 BHS.............................................................................77 day.trip........................................................................78 huffypuffy..................................................................80 Passacaglia.....Fêtes.Galantes..................................81 ccoommiitteeee.mmeettiinnggss............................84 A.Small.Cheer.For.TV.............................................85 diary.letter..................................................................88 Preface This volume of Haibun, the first of several, is a Gift Book..Not.an. indication.of .wealth,.it.is.a.token.gesture.away.from.a.culture.of . overwhelming.consumerism..We.take.it.as.read.that.‘money.makes.the. world.go.round’,.and.that.food,.clothing,.shelter,.information,.theatre,. cinema.etc..are.gained.only.after.payment.to.others..All.manner.of . means.are.employed.to.increase.the.amounts.we.pay..It.appears.to.be. a.core.characteristic.of .our.society.and,.like.many.others.covering.a. wide.variety.of.activities,.is.quickly.and.often.unquestioningly.accepted. as.the.prime.way.communal.life.can.be.successfully.organised..This. is. emphasised. in. a. world. with. a. growing. population,. and. where. communication.can.be,.in.a.moment,.both.local.and.global..Often. those.who.rail.against.it.do.so.with.fundamentalist.fervour..They.make. a clear statement, going some small, usually horrific, way to effect a.reduction.in.the.population..Believed.to.be.able.to.confront.and. subdue.immense.power,.it.moves.lineally,.is.grossly.black.and.white,. hurts.too.many,.is.faith.based,.relies.on.unproven.and.unprovable. premises,.and.is.often.constrictive.and.repressive.. A. small. gift. may. seem. a. million. miles. away. but,. with. a. few. additional.factors,.there.is.a.commonality.of .principle.and.purpose.. Those.who.receive.it.retain.choices..They.can.reject.and.bin.–.in.line. with.that.great.indicator.of.organised.consumer.structures,.junk.mail;. read.and.pass.on.to.someone.else;.read.and.not.pass.on..If.so.inclined. they.can.also.make.a.donation.to.the.British.Haiku.Society*,.a.Charity. dependent on members subscriptions and financial gift aid. I.suppose.that.most.who.read.this.book.will.be.members.of .a. haiku.society.or.group,.and.enjoy.reading.and,.perhaps,.writing.short. stories,.and.so.are.more.likely.to.empathise.with.a.tiny,.ephemeral. gesture.of .opposition..Above.all.else,.the.hope.remains.that,.having. read.some.or.all.of .the.haibun,.it.will.stimulate.and.encourage.a. proactive.and.creative.response. *.Send.to.British.Haiku.Society.Treasurer,.Steve.Mason,.The.Basement,.67A.Offord.Road,.London. N1.1EA Introduction 1 Haibun grow on a far-flung patch of the literary garden. With Japanese.antecedents,.its.evolution.and.development.in.the.West.is. of recent origin. A haibun fingerprint kit acknowledges that it evolves from,.relates.to.and.combines.with.Haiku,.a.poetry.of .brevity.and. understatement,.also.of .Japanese.origin..From.this.historical.base. come.the.qualities.and.perceived.terms.of .reference.and.parameters. that.presently.characterize.and.distinguish.it.from.other.formats. At. this.early.stage.in.its.occidental.evolutionary.cycle,.it.is,.essentially,. a.short.story.combined.with.haiku.poetry..Both.elements.play.an. equally.important.part.in.the.completed.work..The.relationship.is. complex,.replete.with.unexplored.possibilities.and.more.varied.than. at first may be apparent. Haibun.can.vary.in.prose.length.from.a.few.to.about.8000. words..Examples.of .the.latter.are.Matsuo.Bashô’s Oku-no-hosomichi/ The Narrow Road to the Deep North,.David.Cobb’s.The Spring Journey to the Saxon Shore,.and.Ken.Jones’s Stallion’s Crag. Although.the.prose. of .haibun.shares.characteristics.with.haiku,.it.also.differs.from.it.in. significant ways. This relationship between these two components of haibun delineates and defines its present structure. Its unique, even. peculiar. characteristics. distinguish. it. from. both. mainstream. short.story.and.other.literary.forms..Within.the.prose.language.there. is.recognition.of .quality.and.contextual.combinations.central.to.the. haiku.genre.but.different.to.others..No.self-respecting.haibun.shows. its.face.in.public.unless.haiku.is.incorporated.as.an.integral.part.of.the. structure..That,.until.recently,.has.been.an.unquestioned,.sacrosanct. core.feature..This.hybrid.marriage.of .haiku.poetry.and.connected. prose.is.seen.as.the essential defining link. It is in the application that creativity,.expansion,.opportunity.and.additional.expression.lie..In.my. view,.rather.than.being.a.necessity,.this.is.a.mind.barrier..It.is.quite. possible.for.a.haibun,.replete.with.haiku.qualities,.to.be.diminished. by.haiku..There.is.a.danger.that.mental.barriers.are.put.in.place.and. 9 the.permissible.is.coloured..Although.a.useful.concept.to.establish. specificity, any tightening of borders is an inhibitor. Standards and expectations are defined; formal, contextual, aesthetic possibilities limited..Lateral.approaches.stay.hidden... Along. with. the. single. discipline. short story,. haibun. is. often. perceived.as.a.minor.Art.form,.peripheral.to.haiku,.which.is.itself. distanced.from.the.literary.mainstream..The.fact.that.cultural.forms. are. peripheral. does. not,. of . course,. connote. their. importance. or. unimportance..But.is.haibun.one.hybrid.too.far?.Certainly,.it.is.not. an.easy.medium.to.get.to.grips.with.but,.as.with.opera.and,.more. importantly.for.haibun,.comic.graphic.literature,.matured.in.the.West. by.such.creators.as.Will.Eisner,.Art.Spiegelman,.Chris.Ware,.Paul. Auster,.Alan.Moore.&.Bill.Sienkiewicz,.Ennis.&.Dillon,.and.in.the.East. by.at.least.Tezuka.Osamu.and.Riyoko.Ikeda,.its.impact.relies.upon.the. precision.of.application.and.creative.interweaving.of.cross.disciplines¹.. Presently,.manufacturers.of.haibun.utilize.and.prize.the.subtleties.and. specifics of two means of communication. Success indicates a third, and.otherwise.unobtainable.entity.is.created,.one.that.can.challenge. the.form,.layout.and.content.of.more.traditional.genre... 2 The Haiku Society of America has recently defined haiku as being: a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.